"fat Wallets, Empty Lives"

And not just for our souls but for the souls of all people.

Greed is a sin.

And sin is anything that separates us from God.

It’s interesting that we, in the Church, often tend to put more emphasis on some sins and less on others.

I mean think about it.

How often do persons judge those who make mistakes or bad choices sexually, or those who have problems with addictions, or anger, or whatever…

…and yet, if a fine church member drives up in a $60,000 car, just having pulled out of his or her million dollar garage we say: “Bravo! Good for you!!! What a great person you are.”

I’m not saying we should judge anyone, it’s quite the opposite really I’m just saying that the sin of greed is, perhaps, the “forgotten sin,” or the sin which we consider as no sin at all.

It’s been said that the rich man in Jesus’ parable practices what has been called “practical atheism.”

And, he might not and probably would not agree with this.

He may say that he has always believed in God, but when it comes to managing his life, dealing with possessions and planning for the future, he lives as if there is no God.

This parable, therefore, kind of probes our basic commitments, doesn’t it?

What difference does our faith in Jesus Christ make in our approach to life?

Where do our priorities lie?

Who or what is our God?

Believe me when I say I’m preaching to myself as much as I’m preaching to anyone else this morning.

This parable is tough stuff.

Is money getting in the way of my giving myself totally to God and God’s Kingdom?

Is money getting in the way of my love for God and others?

I think it is.

I think it does.

That doesn’t mean that we are to make ourselves destitute.

It doesn’t mean that we aren’t to provide for our family.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t save for retirement.

But it does mean that we make sure that we aren’t living for stuff, and putting money before God and people.

And a good starting point for this is tithing to God’s Church, but it’s just a starting point—but it may just change our lives.

The story is told of a man who had a horrible dream.

“I dreamed that the Lord took my offering and multiplied it by ten, and this became my weekly income.”

He says, “Soon I lost my flat screen t-v, my second laptop computer, my new car, and I couldn’t even make the payments on my new house.”

And then he added, “How can a person live on $20.00 a week?”

Isn’t it funny how $25.00 or $100.00 looks so big when we take it to church and so small when we take it to the store?

The man in Jesus’ parable is totally self-consumed.

There is no one else in the story—just the man and his possessions—until God speaks to him.

No sooner has the man laid out his own future than God speaks to him to declare what that future actually holds.

And then God addresses the man as a “fool,” which brings back a similar reference which is found in Psalm 14 which states, “Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’”

Moreover, in verse 19 the man says to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years.

Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”